UNCOVERED. Police operatives recover belongings reportedly owned by suspects in the murder of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo during a raid at a sugar mill in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental on Thursday night (March 30, 2023). Seized from the raid were burned clothes, identification cards, among others. (Courtesy of Joint Task Force Negros )
DUMAGUETE CITY – Government operatives have seized personal items belonging to suspects in the March 4 murder of Governor Roel Degamo and eight others at a sugar mill compound in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental, Thursday evening, the Joint Task Force Negros (JTFN) said.
The items were found with the use of a backhoe on the premises of the HDJ-Bayawan Agri-Venture Corp. Tolong in Barangay Caranoche, Sta. Catalina, reportedly owned by former Negros Oriental governor Pryde Henry Teves.
The recovered items included burned clothes, identification cards, automated teller machine cards, and assorted documents that reportedly belonged to some identified suspects.
Also found were one silencer, one soldering iron, rifle cleaning paraphernalia, empty slugs of .45 caliber, a Swiss knife, and a tacker used for target papers.
The latest discovery was part of the continuous operations led by the Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) with the help of the JTFN composed of soldiers and the police.
The series of raids started on March 24, after a Mandaue court judge issued a search warrant.
During the raids, operatives seized several high-powered firearms, explosives, and thousands of rounds of ammunition within the premises of the sugar mill.
The former governor said while he is the president of the company, he only owns 10 percent of it and it has five other incorporators.
Meanwhile, Teves voluntarily surrendered some firearms and ammunition to the police on Thursday, a day after he filed a waiver at the Hall of Justice here, allowing authorities to search his phone and bank accounts.
The former governor is the younger brother of suspended Third District Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr., who has been tagged by the Department of Justice as one of the masterminds in the killing of Degamo and eight others. (PNA)
